hi, everybody.

good morning. i'm thomas roberts. tolling our agenda, from immigration to gun control, a number of big stories topping the agenda in washington. one day before president obama expected to roll out his own strategy for immigration reform in vegas, someone beat him to it. a group of someones who have hammered out their own compromise and will formally announce their plan this afternoon. the plan is calling for path to citizenship, legal immigration reform, employee verification system and new protection for workers already in the u.s. >> we can't go on forever with 11 million people living in this country in the shadows in an illegal status. >> we have virtually been going for maybe 25 years without a clear statement about immigration policy. that's unacceptable in this nation of immigrants. >> i see the right spirit. i see things that were once off the table for agreement and discussion being on the table

with a serious pathway forward. >> in this hour at the white house president obama and vice president joe biden will hold another meeting as they push for gun control. this time their meeting is with police from across the country, including the police chiefs of aurora, colorado, oak creek, wisconsin, and newtown, connecticut. all three towns the sites of deadly mass shootings over the last six months. also today, we are covering the interview that has everybody talking. president obama's joint sit-down with outgoing secretary of state hillary clinton. was it his official nod for her potential 2016 run? >> there's no political tea leaves to be read here? >> we don't have any tea. we've got some water here, the best i can tell. but, you know, this has been just the most extraordinary honor. >> is this payback for, let's say, bill clinton? doing such a great job for the obama campaign? >> it would have covered up the awkward fact that they're setting her up for, you know, a

presidential run if they broke some news. >> i love joe biden. i think he's earned a shot at it. but if hillary clinton wants to run how do you stand in the way of history? >> joining me now is msnbc and nbc latino contributor, victoria soto. fellow at the university of texas. great to have you here in person. let's jump in to explain to everybody the bipartisan framework. there are eight different sections. let's go over the first four. contingent on securing border and combatting visa oversay, increase surveillance equipment and agents at border, require completion of an exit/entry tracking system. >> the second and third part of that st most important. we've been securing our borders for more than a decade. more boots on the ground, more fences. the one achilles heel has been visa overstays. when we think immigration the first thing that pops into our mind is mexican immigrants crossing our southern border.

yes, that has tended to be the root of immigration. but those folks who come over from all over the world for six months on a visa and end up staying for 10 years, 20 years. so this immigration reform is saying we need to think about immigration in a broad way and also how it may link to terrorism. >> all right. the next four points, illegal immigrants register, pay fine and back taxes plus pass background check. work history and current employment required. illegal immigrants at back of the line. exceptions for immigrants who came to u.s. as children and farm workers. >> here what we're seeing is the fairness component. if you came here illegally we are going to give you a shot at the american dream, citizenship, but you got to go to the back of the line. that's what differs from the 1986 immigration reform. where they just said, apply for citizenship. you can get long-term residency for five years. then become a citizen. that left a very bad taste in people's mouth. especially if you've been here waiting in the legal route. >> real quickly let's show everybody the federal government

new cnn/orc poll. the question being should the federal government develop a plan for undocumented immigrants to become legal residents? 53% say yes. then we have this. this is really interesting, victoria. because this bipartisan group of senators coming out today almost stealing the thunder from the president's first big policy speech coming tomorrow in las vegas. there is the immigration 8 right there. marco rubio a part of that immigration 8. and he wrote a las vegas review op-ed saying my hope is president obama will use his voice and influence to further this approach. however, if what he offers is a process for the undocumented that is more lenient, faster and unfair to those waiting to come legally, it won't bode well for reform. didn't use the word amnesty but that's what he's talking about. >> you know what other word he didn't use, thomas? illegal. so he intended to talk about illegal immigrants, illegal immigration. and we've seen a change in the rhetoric of how marco rubio is talking about immigration. marco has come to the table and really put his face forward. what he has done is he's the

enforcer. he's the one in this gang of eight that said we can have a path to citizenship but we've got to keep beefing up the border and we have to look at the technology to track the people who are here. so he wants to make himself known as the tough cowboy in all of this. >> he's a latino republican with a bright future in politics for a long time to come. so we will be watching exactly what this group talks about this afternoon. again, we have pretty much the bullet points. victoria, thanks for your time. we want to talk to our power panel for today. this monday we have david druker, associate politics editor for roll call. msnbc political analyst, karen finny. columnist for the hill. republican strategist alice stork. i want to start out right away playing for everybody how senator john mccain, also a member of the immigration 8, talked about what this bipartisan plan means and also what it means for the gop. take a listen. >> i'll give you a little straight talk. look at the last election. look at the last election. we are losing dramatically the hispanic vote, which we think should be ours for a variety of

reasons. >> alice, for a variety of reasons it was not. mainly because of the anti-immigration rhetoric that was doled out by the standard bear. mitt romney all through 2012. can this reverse that course? >> oh, it sure can. we learned a lesson. i think this is a great first step. the framework for this plan being that it's a good consensus of republicans and democrats. it's a great start. i think victoria hit on it. senator rubio also hit on it. fairness is critical in this. the framers of this immigration plan say this is tough, but it's fair. that's important. those that have been going about obtaining citizenship through the legal means should be front of the line and those who have not should go to the back of the line. i think there's also an important emphasis on employer verification and border security. all these are good components to a fair system for legal immigration. >> the national journal has a piece out today saying, karen, in it, quote, the gop wants to survive. that is one interpretation of the move toward amnesty and broad immigration reform spearheaded by a bipartisan group of senators today.

the other is that elections have consequences. take a listen to what congressman steve israel had to say earlier on this. >> i'm not interested in finger points and i'm not interested in the old debates and the old sound bites. we need a solution that is fair and balanced. that secures our borders, that has tough verifiable enforcement, but also provides a path to citizenship for those who are here and part of our economy. when you've got republicans senators who are willing to support this, it's time for house republicans to support it as well. >> fair and balanced. so has the immigration 8 done the work of the president? there's no need for that big policy speech tomorrow. >> i think we need both. remember, we need, you know, the support of the white house as well as the work in congress are going to be critical to making sure that the end result is legislation that remains fair and balanced. because as we know in the legislative process, all sorts of things can get changed and amendments and what have you. so i do think it's important that the president -- remember as the president talked about last year, it's important that outside groups engage in this

process. it's also important to remember that, i think for the president to stay engaged, because he has done so much already on enforcement. so much money has already been spent on enforcement. so while, you know, that's the good part of the talking points, i think, for republicans and it may also be good policy, i think as victoria pointed out, there needs to be this broader approach to immigration reform generally. not just with the emphasis as it has been on immigrants coming over from mexico, but sort of some of the other areas where we -- both affecting our economy as well as people coming into this country illegally and being able to stay. >> david, as we look at the motives behind the immigration 8 and putting out their plan ahead of the president's policy speech, tell us about who these senators are, what they have to gain and why they're trying to jump the gun on obamagration, the policy speech we're going to get tomorrow. >> i think they want to make sure they're relevant and the principles of their agreement drive the discussion. clearly marco rubio considers himself or could be a

presidential candidate in 2016. but from my reporting in covering him over the last election cycle, one thing that he really understands is that the future of the republican party depends upon embracing other democrats beyond your standard white voter. in particular the hispanic and latino demographics, depending what part of the country you're in, is a major, major component of that. so i think he wanted to do something about this because every other republican and conservative priority, whether it's budget or defense or what have you, depends on being in power and being able to execute that. that's why republicans are attacking this. you've had republicans on capitol hill that have wanted to do this for a long time. they've had a problem with the base. now, with democrats in the group, these are democrats that care very deeply about the issues as well. whether it's bob menendez from new jersey or senator durbin. and for democrats the challenge is, are they willing to give up

a very useful political bludgeon with which to hit republicans in order to get a deal done? because once both parties -- if both parties embrace this, it's a political tool that in some cases, in many cases, is off the table for democrats. >> sure. it shows a compromise. that does help the future of the republican party. but while we talk about that, let's talk about the future of the democratic party. as americans we might have already seen it last night on "60 minutes." take a look. >> i have to ask you, what's the date of expiration on this endorsement? >> oh, steve. no, no. >> i have to ask that question. i mean, come on. you're sitting here together. everybody in town is talking about it already. and this is taking place. >> you know, steve, i got to tell you, the -- you guys in the press are incorrigible. i was literally inaugurated four days ago. and you're talking about elections four years from now.

>> all right. so we're incorrigible. but they agreed to sit down to this interview. >> they did. >> karen, for a lot of people looking at this they see this as almost an anointed successor route here for hillary clinton. however, there's four years. and joe biden is the vice president. so there's a lot of time and space in between now and 2016. >> oh, are we really going to spend all this time between now and 2016 talking about joe biden and hillary clinton? as the president said, it is incorrigible. >> we got to do something. we've got to do something, karen. >> can't we talk about immigration reform and how good that actually is for the country? >> we can do that, too. >> here's what i would say, actually. i have a different take on this. you know, the fascination with, you know, all things hillary clinton is something obviously that over the 20 years i've been in politics i have observed up close and in person. but i think this to me was more about there's also a fascination, i think, about the nature of the relationship between two people who had a really fierce competition against one another. but then found a way to come together and work for the good of the country. i think this interview and the

two of them sitting down was as much about that as anything else. i hope as a country we can focus on that. and the speculation about whether or not this is an endorsement or not, i mean, i think some of that's a little bit silly right now. i can tell you every prediction that was made at this point in time prior to 2012 or the 2008 election were completely wrong. >> you set me up really well, though, to talk about how things have changed. and that they do consider each other to be friends. take a listen. >> i consider hillary a strong friend. >> yeah. i mean, very warm, close -- i think there's a sense of understanding that, you know, sometimes doesn't even take words. >> friendships involve a sense of trust and being in the fox hole together. and that emerged during the course of months when we were making some very tough decisions. >> alice, after watching this, is hillary the gop's biggest nightmare? >> look, she would be certainly

a tough contender. but what i got out of this interview was a 30-minute commercial for hillary clinton. the only thing missing was a disclaimer that said hillary for president 2016. i don't fault the president or secretary clinton. they got a love fest on "60 minutes." but the only thing if i were joe biden, i would be, where's the love for me? but it was an interview that was more of a personal interview. i personally wish it was more on policy. when steve croft had the opportunity to follow up on the president claiming that they dismantled al qaeda, he quickly turns to whether or not he's going to endorse hillary clinton. but, i mean, it was a nice personal interview. but it was very lacking in substance. and i think it was a win/win for hillary clinton and the president, certainly. >> let's not forget that joe biden appears with the president all the time. it's not like he doesn't get, you know, public appearance time with the president. >> look -- >> david, last word to you. >> yeah. look, there's -- i'll take everything that the president and the secretary of state said at face value.

let me add this. there's no way a president of the united states gives up all of this screen time, this important "60 minutes" screen time and shares it if there's not some underlying motive behind it. it just doesn't happen by the very nature of the presidency. second of all, the president owes the clintons a lot. the reason is bill clinton throughout the 2012 campaign and hillary clinton was collecting the check. >> you know -- >> karen, we got to leave the last word there. got to be faster, karen. our political power panel today. david drucker, karen finny and alice stewart. a programming note, andrea mitchell is going to interview secretary clinton. it'll air on "andrea mitchell reports" 1:00 p.m. on wednesday. coming up, calling it quits. senators tom harkin and saxby chambliss and jay rockefeller announcing that will not be running for another term. is this the gop's big chance for a senate sweep? brazilian police arrest three people in connection with

that deadly nightclub fire and are the lookout for potentially more suspects. we'll fill you in on that. our big question for you today, will a bipartisan immigration deal help rebrand the gop with latino voters? tweet me @thomasaroberts. find us on facebook. rises him. morning starts in high spirits, but there's a growing pain in his lower back. as lines grow longer, his pain continues to linger. but after a long day of helping others, he gets some helpful advice. just two aleve have the strength to keep back pain away all day. today, jason chose aleve. just two pills for all day pain relief. try aleve d for strong, all day long sinus and headache relief. that's a good thing, but it doesn't cover everything. only about 80% of your part b medical expenses. the rest is up to you. so consider an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company.

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democrats can have a really tough fight on their hands to keep control of the senate come 2014. iowa senator tom harkin's announcement saturday that he's retiring gives republicans a major opportunity. the gop needs to pick up six seats next year to take the senate. right now they have 45 seats. the democrats at 53. nbc news senior political editor mark murray joins me to talk more about this. mark, this puts a number of states in play now. we talk about west virginia after jay rockefeller's retirement and possibly south dakota, massachusetts as well. how possible is it for the gop to pick up six seats in 2014?

>> it is possible. but it will be difficult. democrats are playing defense right now, thomas, given these retirements. but also just the terrain that the 2014 senate map will be on. there are democrats up for re-election in arkansas, alaska, louisiana. and now you end up having that open seat in west virginia. all of those four states haven't been hospitable territory for democrats in national elections, particularly presidential ones. but this is an eternity in politics. when november 2014 rolls around. there's a very long time. just two years ago no one thought democrats would be able to pick up senate seats at this point two years ago. at this point four years ago no one thought republicans would be having the very big november 2010 they ended up having. >> if we look back just to 2010 the president referred to it as a shellacking. our steve kornacki wrote about this today about the last two senate cycles and says the gop squandered several winnable races by dominating deeply

flawed, polarizing candidates. without christine o'donnell, sharon angle, ken buck,ed to akin and richard mourdock, the party might today control the senate. how careful must be the republican picks be? tell us about the bench. we don't seem to talk about a deep bench for them. >> this might be the most fascinating story, more fascinating than the retirements themselves. in iowa there's a very conservative congressman, steve king, who might be eyeing the senate seat now vacated by tom ma harkin. he would have a great chance of winning a republican primary. in a general election it would be pretty tough. we're also going to see a very tough primary perhaps in georgia. and it will be interesting to see in west virginia whether the establishment republican running ends up getting a primary for the right. i think this is going to be the big dynamic to watch over the next year or so, thomas. >> let's look at massachusetts, though. there's a new poll out for former senator scott brown with an eight-point lead over the democratic party's generic

candidate. then a 20-point lead over the democratic senatorial committee's preference. brown hasn't made any real decisions on this yet, mark. realistically with all this talk it seems like he's in this race. what are his chances? >> he still hasn't made up his mind yet. there is thinking he might decide to run for governor instead of for senate. the polls show scott brown to be in a very good position. and he would give republicans the best opportunity to pick that seat. however, when you look -- when you chat with a lot of democrats they believe the reason scott brown got elected in 2010 was a confluence of events that might not repeat themselves this year. >> nbc's mark murray in d.c. for us. thank you. just ahead, the kid friendly gun campaign. gun makers are pouring millions of dollars into ads aimed at your kids. dan gross with the brady campaign and congresswoman jackie spear way in on that. plus, state of emergency. protests and violence rage on in egypt despite the attempts to calm things down. the news now is next.

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here's a look at some of the stories topping the news now. police in brazil arrested three people for questioning in connection with this weekend's horrific nightclub fire. 231 people died when a band's pyrotechnics sparked the fire in a clouded club. egyptian president mohammed morsi ordered a state of emergency. 50 people have been killed in violence. a winter storm left much of the midwest on ice. in chicago alone the weather grounded nearly 200 planes and left 11,000 customers without power. a colorado grand jury reportedly voted to indict the parents of jonbenet ramsey. prosecutors said they could not prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt. iran says today they successfully launched a monkey into space. state tv says the move is a step forward to sending humans into

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particularly when it comes to gun control. they are firing up all the contacts they have. >> yeah, thomas, that's exactly right. of course, we're barely a week into the president's second term. we're really getting a pretty good sense of how seriously he takes some of his second term agenda priorities. being immigration reform and, of course, as you know, gun control. you're referring specifically to those -- that stash of contacts. all the personal details of supporters of the president who was initially called organizing -- excuse me. obama for america. they have renamed that effectively organizing for action. it's been changed as sort of a political group attached to the president. loosely run by his campaign chair, jim mesina. just on friday they put out talking points even giving individuals a sample script if they wanted to call their congress members to tell them they were looking for action on the issue of guns as well. h is really one way the president is hoping to try to effectively execute new change in the course of the next several months and in this

second term. >> meanwhile, we have the first major policy speech being given tomorrow on immigration from las vegas. we have the talk of this bipartisan deal that's been reached within the senate. the immigration 8. explain to all of us, is there enough oxygen in washington, d.c., right now to have a gun control debate on the side of an immigration reform debate? does one extinguish the other? >> reporter: well, the white house is convinced that there is. i think it seems more likely, at least to those in washington, that the immigration issue is one that could be solved more quickly. especially given the headlines being made today about that bipartisan group of senators coming together with their sort of loose plan. their proposals on this issue. the president will be speaking, as you have noted, in las vegas tomorrow. he has mapped out more details on this, his plan from 2011. it was roughly lly 29 pages. the senators is a lot shorter.

>> while we have you here, this is all going on while one of the president's picks for his cabinet is being vetted. we're talking about chuck hagel for defense. he's got a contentious confirmation hearing coming up on thursday. senators mccain and bob menendez said yesterday they are still unsure about him. take a listen. >> i want to see what happens in the hearing. and i think it would be important to make a judgment after that. >> i look forward to asking him a series of questions about israel, about iran as the major sponsor of the iran sanctions in the senate. i am concerned about some of the comments he has made about sanctions in the past. >> peter, a lot of people are interested in hearing where chuck hagel stands on a lot of issues modern day. is this his best opportunity to convince his critics that he's the right man for the job? >> reporter: i think it will be. but he's obviously up against some pretty tough opposition. this is the first confirmation battle taking place in the new superpac era. that means there's a lot of very wealthy people in this country who do not agree with chuck hagel's opinions on some of those issues.

they have been spending a lot of money. one group called americans for a strong defense has already put millions into this effort. really trying to hit some senators in key states that have big defense budgets, saying they should be warned about the potential of a chuck hagel as secretary of defense. >> peter alexander at the white house for us this morning, peter, great to see you. thank you. as the president turns up the heat on the campaign for gun control, it seems the gun rights advocates are upping the ante on recruiting their target. children. joining me democratic congressman jackie spear of california who was just appointed to a new gun violence prevention task force. as well as dan gross. i want to start with this "new york times" report that found some gun groups were seeking to, quote, introduce children to high powered rifles and handguns while invoking the same rationale of those older, more traditional programs that firearms can teach life skills like responsibility, ethics, and citizenship. i want to get both of your reactions.

congresswoman, i'll start with you. what's your reaction to this? >> i think it's ironic that on the one hand they are doing research on how to attract children to guns. and yet want to prevent and have been successful in preventing the congress and the cdc from researching gun violence. prevention. so it reminds me a lot of the joe camel commercials and the efforts to try and encourage kids to smoke. >> with the logic being, dan, that the second amendment is not going anywhere and the right to bear arms exists, playing devil's advocate here, doesn't it make sense to try to educate our youth about the responsibility of using a firearm, the dangers of using a firearm? >> yeah. in a true way, to educate young people about both the responsibility and the true dangers, that's not a bad thing. what is a bad thing is blatantly marketing these guns to young people. basically it exposes the true colors of the gun lobby. they're not concerned in the gun industry. they're not concerned about the

prevention of gun violence. they're just concerned about selling more guns. the rest of the american public wants to engage in a meaningful conversation about exactly what you're saying. what we can do respectful of the second amendment right to own guns, respectful of the fact that hunting and target shooting and protection are deeply ingrained notions. and, you know, in a lot of our country. but have that conversation simultaneous to the risks associated with having guns in the home and what we can do to prevent tragedies. >> sure. the tragedy that is most fresh on everyone's mind, newtown. right now there's a hearing under way in connecticut about stopping gun violence. and some of the victims' families are testifying. take a listen. >> i'm never going to have my son back. i accepted what happened that day when it happened. i didn't like it. i couldn't change it. he wouldn't want me to sit around crying or feeling bad. i'm not trying to -- now trying to do something to help him,

help the other victims. >> neil's son was jesse lewis there. this is a live image of the testimony that continues there. one thing also i want to pass along is the fact that new york city police commissioner ray kelly appeared on the sunday talk shows yesterday. he was asked about the assault weapons ban. and this is his answer, saying that they're not the big problem. take a listen. >> for us in new york city, and i believe in most urban centers of america, the problem really is concealable handguns. only 2% of the people that we've arrested for guns in the last two years have had assault weapons. >> congresswoman, a lot of republicans have jumped on that. being that they're coming after our guns. obviously ray kelly deals with a different type of situation in an urban city center as opposed to someone who lives in rural america. what do you think about his response? >> well, i think he's accurate. and it's very important that we do everything in our power to make sure that people have guns, keep them safe, and use them

appropriately. i just had a gun buyback in san mateo county last weekend. we collected, voluntary buyback, we collected 680 guns. half of them were handguns. 24 of them were assault weapons. one was a street sweeper. one was a sawed off shotgun with the serial numbers having been erased. so there are guns that should not be in circulation. and we should do everything in our power to get them out of circulation. >> you're seeing video of that gun buyback. it really is amazing. as you point out the type of weapons that are floating out there, certainly the kind that are most scary with the serial numbers that are scratched off. but that's the reality in certain cities, certain places around the country. dan, in an interview with the new republic president obama said he understood where gun owners are coming from. saying that if you grew up and your dad gave you a hunting rifle when you were 10 and you went out and you spent the day with him and your uncles and that became part of your family's traditions you can see why you'd be pretty protective of that.

it's trying to bridge those gaps. i think that's going to be part of the biggest task over the next several months. he went on to add that he does skeet shoot while at camp david. so what is it that's so frightening to those people out there that support guns and gun ownership that think that taking assault weapons and these military style weapons is infringing from their rights? >> right. i mean, you know, it's basically people buying into the party line of the gun lobby. the reality is when you look at sensible gun control measures, take assault weapons ban, for example, the overwhelming majority not only of the american public, not only of gun owners, but of nra members are in favor of those measures. those measures have nothing to do with taking away the second amendment right to bear arms. so, you know, what's happening is the conversation that's being projected out to popular culture is really just a conversation on the extremes. the overwhelming majority of the american public supports these solutions. the only place where it's really an evenly split partisan political debate is in the halls

of congress. that's what we need to change. the president at every turn has underscored his administration's deep belief and respect for the second amendment and for gun owners. and the interview that you were just quoting is yet another example of it. we just need to, you know, educate the american public and inspire the american public to make their voice heard on the issue. because as the president said when he announced his administration's recommendations from the task force, you know, the only way we're going to create change is if the american public demands it. and it's up to us now. >> congresswoman, as dan points out, it really is going to fall on your lap and everyone else's lap on the hill to talk about this type of policy change needed in the country. but as we talk about immigration reform and gun control within the same breath and sentence, is there enough appetite in washington, d.c., to provide the american people with comprehensive policy reform on both issues? >> thomas, it's our job to do the people's work.

and we should have the appetite, as you put it, to do both these issues. because they're both front burner issues. >> all right. i want to ask you both to stand by. because we have some tape playback of the vice president and president from their meeting today. take a listen. >> law enforcement officials all across the country who obviously share our deep concern about issues of gun safety and how we can protect our communities and keep our kids safe. you know, a couple of weeks ago i appeared along with joe to present the administration's ideas in terms of steps that we have to take. and i issued a number of executive actions that could be taken unilaterally in order to improve our collection of data, to make sure that we're coordinating more effectively with state and local governments, and to do everything that we could to improve the issue of gun safety and to make our communities safer. but as we've indicated before, the only way that we're going to be able to do everything that

needs to be done is with the cooperation of congress. and that means passing serious laws that restrict the access and availability of assault weapons and magazine clips that aren't necessary for hunters and sportsmen and those responsible gun owners who are out there. it means that we are serious about universal background checks. it means we take seriously issues of mental health and school safety. we recognize that this is an issue that illicits a lot of passion all across the country. and joe and my cabinet members who've been involved in this have been in a listening session over the last several months. no group is more important for us to listen to than our law enforcement officials. they're where rubber hits the

road. so i welcome this opportunity to work with them. to hear their views in terms of what would make the biggest difference to prevent something like newtown or oak creek from happening again. but many of them also recognize that it's not only the high-profile mass shootings that are of concern here. it's also what happens on a day in, day out basis in places like chicago or philadelphia where young people are victims of gun violence every single day. that's why part of the conversation that we're going to be having today relates not only to the issue of new laws or better enforcement of our gun laws, it also means what are we doing to make sure that we've got the strongest possible law enforcement teams on the ground. what are we doing to hire more cops? what are we doing to make sure they're getting the training that they need? what are we doing to make sure that sheriff's offices in rural counties have access to some of

the resources that some of the big cities do in order to deal with some of these emergencies? so i'm looking forward to a robust conversation. i know that this is not a shy group. mainly because they're dealing with life and death situations every single day. but i'm very grateful to them for their participation. this is a representative group. it comes from a wide cross-section of communities across the country. and hopefully if law enforcement officials who are dealing with this stuff every single day can come to some basic consensus in terms of steps that we need to take, congress is going to be paying attention to them and will be able to make progress. all right? thank you very much, everybody. >> moments ago the president's remarks from inside the gun violence meeting that he's holding with the vice president. in attendance there the police chiefs from aurora, colorado, oak creek, wisconsin, and newtown, connecticut, all sites within the last six months that have had shooting tragedies. congresswoman, your reaction to

that, saying that it is basically put on you, the cooperation of congress, to see something get done beyond executive orders from the president? >> it is our job. and the president has put forth common sense proposals. universal background checks requiring every state to offer their crime data is going to be very important in this effort. assault weapon ban. high capacity magazines. you know, holding 100 round high capacity magazine in my hand on saturday was unnerving. there's no -- no place for that kind of instrumentality in our civil society. >> dan, real quickly, do you think 2013 is the year to get this done? >> i do. the white house is committed. the american public is behind it. we need to make that voice heard. if we do congress will do the right thing. >> back with much more after this. look what mommy is having.

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new reaction to the latest republican scheme to win the next election. republicans in six states want to distribute electoral votes according to congressional districts. one instead of the winner take all approach. the move would have made mitt romney the next president. this weekend gop leaders said it's a good idea but stopped short of a full endorsement. >> i stand by what i said about it. i thought it was an intriguing idea that some states are looking at, which they are. and i think it's going to be up to them to decide what they want to do about it. >> our politics are off. and we need to be honest about the problems that our movement and our party's got. >> it's an interesting idea. i haven't committed one way or the other to it. for me and i think for any other state considering this, you should really look at not just the short term but the long term implicatio implications. >> not committed but we like it.

joining me now is michael tomaski. his latest article is titled "the gop plan to steal elections." quite a headline, michael. let's start with our nbc first read team says governor mcdonnell and ken kuchinelly, they've come out against it. does this mean it's dead? >> it may mean in virginia it's dead, thomas. also i notice a republican state senator in virginia also came out against it. they would need the vote of every state senator. although a bill is being introduced this week as i understand. so it's being pushed through. you know, it's going to be very hard for them to pull this off politically but they're going to try. >> what about scott walker? we heard him saying there he's not committal about this but it might be of interest. >> walker in michigan. also snyder used the word "interesting." decoded the word "interesting" means, well, we'll love to be able to get away with this scam. i'm not sure we can. i'm not going to endorse it until we think our odds are

better. >> meanwhile the gop is looking for a way out of the wilderness so to speak. congressman paul ryan had some advice for the gop on saturday's national review conference. then i want to play for everybody the rising star, mayor of utah, or in utah, mia love. what she had to say about the gop. >> the president will bait us. he will portray us as cruel and unyielding. we capital get rattled. we won't play the villain in his plays. we have to stay united. we have to show that if given the chance, we can govern, that we have better ideas. >> the president, i believe, is president today not because of what he does, but because of what he says because people feel like they can relate to him. people feel like -- that he can relate to them and that he understands even though he can't really -- he is not really doing anything to help the people on the ground. they feel like he understands them. >> so the take-away that the president has made the gop the

villain? >> you know, i think the take-away is that they don't want to change. paul ryan's remarks in particular were -- boiled down to exactly that, didn't they? he said we've got to keep doing what we've been doing. we're right. you know, maybe we need to repackage a little bit, but we have to do what we believe. they've gotten thib their hats handed to them, and they're not interested in chajing. >> thank you for your time. i appreciate it. we asked. you answered. will bipartisan immigration deal help regrand the gop voters? we got this. not a chance. it was 20 minutes ago when they were being asked to self-deport. do you think they'll forget? ak2 san diego tweets new gop turned towards latinos and immigration is hippo critical. empty words. keep the comments coming in on twitter and facebook. [ male announcer ] there's a story

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scott brown tweets then delet's. it's time for the poli side bar. scott brown raising eyebrows with she ve interesting tweets saturday morning and then deleted minutes later. the first one, bqhatevwr. he then corrected it to whatever. then you're brilliant, matt. his spelling mistake. not ours. the _#bqhatevwr started trepding on twitter. still no apology from beyonce. senator chuck schumer telling the new york post that the pop star has not called to say sorry for lip syncing the star-spangled banner. he says he is not asking for one. "saturday night live" couldn't resist taking their own shot. >> dr. king, she was there to sing our national anthem. >> was she? ""access hollywood"" would beg to differ. >> "access hollywood"? >> they said she was lip

syncing, and i was, like, and i care why? _#jayzee is one lucky man. >> they had a lot of fun material this weekend. i'll see you here tomorrow at 11:00 a.m. eastern time. now with alex wagner is coming up next. hi, alex. >> hey, thomas. there are actual signs of compromise on capitol hill, but as a bipart sfwlan group of senators unveils a group for immigration reform, republicans continue to struggle with an identity kritsz. we will examine prescription with a gop fix with our guest, sam stein, jody cantor, and jonathan alter. plus, the politics of disaster relief and the tao of chris christie. we are joined for a discussion on the gitmo hearings and the obama administration's drone playbook. all that when "now" starts in a mere 180 seconds. legal matters? at legalzoom, we've created a better place to handle your legal needs. maybe you have questions about incorporating a business you'd like to start. or questions about protecting your family

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